Experts Call on the Commonwealth Parliamentarians to Adopt New Technologies in Agri

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) organized a three-day workshop of the Parliamentary Agriculture Committees from India, Africa, and South Asia Regions last October 29-31, 2014 at the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Chandigarh, India.

The workshop was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Punjab Sh Prakash Singh Badal, Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly Dr. Charnjit Singh Atwal, and Honorable Speaker of Indian Lok Sabha Smt. Sumitra Mahajan. It was attended by leaders of Parliamentary Agriculture Committees, legislatures and delegates from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The workshop aimed to devise ways to increase food productivity and achieve food security. Discussions stressed that technical innovations are vital to meet today's challenges of food security and that countries should focus on crop improvement and on sustainable use of resources. Other issues tackled include the myths and realities of GM crops, safety of GM food and the parliamentary agricultural committees' role in strengthening the agriculture sector.

(from left): Dr. BS Dhillon, Vice Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana; Mr. Tony Worthington of University of Greenwich; Dr. Charnjit Singh Atwal, Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly; Prof. IS Dua of Punjab University; and Mr. Bhagirath Choudhary, Director of ISAAA South Asia Centre

For more details, contact Bhagirath Choudhary of ISAAA South Asia Centre at b.choudhary@cgiar.org.